Buy buttons are the hot new trend in social media, but they aren’t gaining much traction. In fact, an Invesp survey found that social commerce sales made up only 5% of online retail revenue in 2015. Many social sites still struggle to gain customer trust, so platforms will need to prove that they’re more than just socially savvy to win them over.
I'm still luke warm on the popularity of social buy buttons at this time. It's not that I wouldn't implement them – I'm sure that there's a positive ROI in virtually any implementation. Someone will, of course, click and make a purchase!
It's common knowledge that a key to increasing online conversion rates is to reduce the steps needed in order to convert. With that in mind, it's only logical that putting a seamless buy button very early in the purchase funnel makes total sense. But it's not that logical. Conversion optimization is shortening the steps taken from a purchase decision to a conversion… the problem is that social media doesn't necessarily have the purchase decision.
Will that change? I'm sure it will. As consumers trust their social wallets more and stories of great service begin to hit the market, they'll probably utilize these avenues more. However, I simply can't see social as a trusted medium yet. And trust is an absolute key to winning the purchase decision.
None of the social platforms have a number you can call at this point when you run into trouble (perhaps they do with a purchase, I'm not sure). Do I really want to click buy and send an order into the abyss, wondering if I'm going to receive my goods, and wondering where to get support if I don't?
Pinterest seems like the most closely suited social site at this point since many of their audience are already shopping and Pinterest channels can closely reflect the sites or brands promoted.
Here are some examples of social buy button implementations
Facebook Buy Button:
Twitter Buy Button:
Pinterest Buy Button:
Instagram Buy Button:
